Orrick Adds Real Estate Partner As Data Center Demand Grows

• Real estate advisor Peter Bergan joins the firm as demand for data center and digital infrastructure support grows. He will be a partner in the Chicago office.
• Peter brings experience navigating the latest trends in hyperscale, enterprise and colocation data center transactions, as the market expands to meet AI-driven demand for computing power.
• Peter will bolster the firm’s Real Estate capabilities, for which the firm is Band 1-ranked in Northern California (Chambers), advising the firm’s fund and other investor clients. He brings experience counseling on the full range of complex commercial, industrial, infrastructure, retail, hospitality, multifamily and single-family real estate transactions, including joint ventures and development work.
• With Peter, Orrick now has six partners in its Chicago office, which was launched through the firm’s combination with Buckley last year. The office includes practitioners focused on consumer finance regulation and litigation, intellectual property, energy & infrastructure, tax, investigations & enforcement, and now real estate.

“Data center capital investment is predicted to exceed $1 trillion in the US alone over the next five years, and Peter’s experience on the cutting edge of this work is a key part of our holistic solutions for this market,” said Zach Finley, leader of Orrick’s Global Banking & Finance group and co-head of the firm’s multi-disciplinary Data Center team.

“Peter is an excellent addition to our team with amazing experience in the digital infrastructure sector. He bolsters our bench with not only a strong background in traditional real estate work, but also joint venture expertise, and he works with the most sophisticated market players,” said Randy Perry, head of Orrick's Real Estate practice.

Peter advised Vantage Data Centers on the formation of an investment partnership initially consisting of six stabilized data centers in strategic locations across Europe valued at approximately €2.5 billion, including Vantage’s stake, covering more than 1.8 million gross square feet and 177MW of IT capacity, in 2023. He was named among Commercial Real Estate's Aspiring Leaders by GlobeSt in 2024.

“Orrick advises on the most innovative transactions across tech, energy & infrastructure, finance and life sciences. I’m especially excited to work with the team to meet market demand for innovative solutions in the fast-growing data center market,” Peter shared.

Orrick offers comprehensive solutions for data center developers, operators and investors, advising on public and private financing structures (including securitization of income streams), carbon-free power sourcing (where the firm ranks no. 1 globally by volume (Inspiratia) and Band 1 for Energy Transition (Chambers), M&A and joint ventures, cyber risk, data innovation and AI policies, and other technical, operational, and project development aspects of data centers, fiber networks and digital infrastructure assets.